1. Field of the Invention:
The invention relates to a flexible all-steel shaft coupling comprising a connecting flange for each of the coupling halves, and a yieldable stapled lamella crown located in axially spaced relationship between said connecting flanges, and alternately connected in the circumferential direction by means of clamp bolts to one or the other connecting flange, said stapled lamella crown sitting on spring collets of the clamp bolts and being clamped between spacer rings with the connecting flange.
Such couplings, connected in series either individually or by pairs, are used for torque transmission. As individual couplings they allow an angle and an axial displacement and as a pair of coupling they additionally permit even a parallel displacement of the drive with respect to the transmission.
In order to be able to operate such couplings at high rotational speed, big efforts have been made to avoid imbalances already during the assembly operation. Such imbalances are mainly caused by the stapled lamella crown. This does not only apply to stapled lamella crowns composed of individual lamella tongues but also to those crowns consisting of lamella rings.
2. Discussion of Prior Art:
In a prior shaft coupling of the above mentioned type cylindrical press seats are provided with and without high precision spring collets between the clamp bolt, the collet and the bores in the stapled lamella crown on one hand and the bores in the connecting flange on the other hand. Such press seats require as well complex fabrication methods as a very careful and timeconsuming assembly (DE-AS 26 45 600).
In order to avoid these drawbacks the stapled lamella crown of another shaft coupling forms a preassembled packaged together with a centering ring connected thereto by means of screw bolts. The centering ring is provided with a finely machined circumference forming a press seat together with a correspondingly finished flange circumference. Said preassembled unit is alternately secured by means of clamp bolts--eventually through interconnected guide sleeves--to the pair of flanges. Though in said shaft coupling the lamella crown is centered by the centering ring, there have not been made any provisions to compensate the fabrication caused tolerance between clamp bolt and stapled lamella crown. Pulsatory loads may cause a displacement of the clamp bolts due to said tolerance thus causing renewed imbalance.
The operation of the shaft couplings of the above mentioned type has shown that even in case of very precisely machined press seats there occur ruptures due to notch corrosion at the clamping points of the stapled lamella crown.